Herman Pontzer – författare

'Pontzer's findings have huge implications for our attitudes to exercise, diet and public health' Mark Webster, Sunday TimesA myth-busting tour of the body's hidden foundations from a pioneering evolutionary biologist'Public health strategies stubbornly cling to the simplistic armchair engineer's view of metabolism, hurting efforts to combat obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and the other diseases that are most likely to kill us'Herman Pontzer's ground-breaking research has revealed how, contrary to received wisdom, exercise does not increase our metabolism. Instead, we burn calories within a very narrow range: nearly 3,000 calories per day, no matter our activity level.In this book, he draws on twenty years of cutting-edge science to take a closer look at what happens to the energy we consume. Burn explores the ways in which metabolism controls every aspect of our health - from fertility to immune function - and reveals the truth about the dynamic system that sustains us. Filled with facts and memorable anecdotes, this book will change the way you think about food, exercise and what really matters for your health.

'Engrossing, richly informative . . . challenges us to rethink universal health benchmarks' New YorkerA new way of thinking about diversity and what really unites us, from the internationally renowned author of BurnReal diversity isn’t skin deep. Over the past 100,000 years, as humans expanded into every biome on the planet, our bodies and our cultures have been fine-tuned to our local environments. Beyond the physical demands of our climate, we live our lives immersed in ideas and norms that affect what we eat, how we move and why we get sick – all of which, in turn, affect how our bodies work.As an evolutionary anthropologist conducting ground-breaking research with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has come to see much more clearly how our genes and environments combine to shape our bodies and our health: for better or worse. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways it can change in response to its environment: from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens. He also highlights the critical ways we misinterpret biological adaptations: in healthcare, public policy and individual choices.With so much of our wellbeing and public discourse centred on human biology, a clear understanding of the distinction between socially constructed and genetic differences is more important than ever. This timely reappraisal of an overlooked science is an essential guide to our remarkable bodies.

'Engrossing, richly informative . . . challenges us to rethink universal health benchmarks' New YorkerAmbitious, controversial, there's a line of humour running through it too... I learned a lot' New Scientist A new way of thinking about diversity and what really unites us, from the internationally renowned author of BurnAs an evolutionary anthropologist conducting ground-breaking research with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has come to see much more clearly how our genes and environments combine to shape our bodies and our health: for better or worse. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways it can change in response to its environment: from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens. He also highlights the critical ways we misinterpret biological adaptations: in healthcare, public policy and individual choices.With so much of our wellbeing and public discourse centred on human biology, a clear understanding of the distinction between socially constructed and genetic differences is more important than ever. This timely reappraisal of an overlooked science is an essential guide to our remarkable bodies.

Reconstructing Human Origins is the most authoritative, comprehensive, and popular paleoanthropology textbook available. Respected anthropologists Glenn Conroy and new coauthor Herman Pontzer use clear writing and abundant, carefully chosen illustrations to illuminate key concepts and help students get the most out of the course. This definitive paleoanthropology text has been fully revised to keep pace with all of the exciting recent developments in the field.